How it Starts
by Torpor
Summary: Shinya Kougami moves to a new school and finds himself drawn to a fellow classmate. When he saves the boy from bullies, he decides to befriend him, which proves to be harder than he expected. This is a story about friendship, fears and learning about oneself in the awkward stages of youth. (Rated M for strong language)


The first day at a new school was always scary. Shinya Kougami had attended the same school with the same people for most of his life, but recent changes in his father's work brought them here. He didn't know anyone here, and it was never fun to be the new kid. He doubted they'd be mean or anything so juvenile as that, but the nerves were certainly there.

He entered the large double doors and made his way to the faculty office for his class schedule and home room assignment. The halls were wide and the echo of his footsteps was loud in the emptiness. It smelled like some sort of floral air freshener that burned his nose.

When he made it to the faculty office, a man with dark hair stood alone, his back to the door. Shinya cleared his throat gently and the man turned around. He wore a pastel blue shirt and khaki pants, his brown shoes neatly polished.

"Yes? Can I help you?" Shinya took a breath and smiled.

"Yes sir. I'm a new student here to pick up my schedule." The man smiled in return, his teeth straight and white between slightly chapped lips.

"What's your name, young man?"

"Kougami Shinya." The man flipped through a file, repeating the last name to himself in a whisper.

"Kougami... Kougami... ah. Here you are. You are in class 2-F with Mr. Arisato. It's on the second floor. Think you find your way?" Shinya nodded and bowed his head politely before wishing the man a pleasant day.

He made his way up the stairs and down the hall, watching the placards on the walls. 1-D, 2-D, 1-E and so on until he made it to class 2-F. He was still a few minutes early, but he pushed the door open cautiously. Heads turned to look at him and he immediately felt uncomfortable.  
The teacher looked up from his desk, his thick rimmed glasses and scruffy neck beard out of place in a fancy school like this one.

"Are you my new student?" He asked in a reedy voice. Shinya nodded silently and the man beamed and gestured for him to come up front. "Don't be shy, kiddo! We won't bite. Go ahead and introduce yourself!" The whispers came to a stop as he faced the class and looked into the hopeful faces of his new classmates. He glanced around the room once and smiled.

"My name is Kougami Shinya, it's a pleasure." The rest of the class chorused a polite greeting in return, but Shinya noticed that one classmate didn't seem to care that he was there, or even acknowledge that someone had spoken. The young man stared at the top of his desk, his arms crossed tightly across his chest.

"Let's see... where should we put you..." Other students piped up, offering seats next to them but Mr. Arisato ignored them.

"Go ahead and sit in front of Mr. Ginoza right there in the second row. He's been alone on his little island for long enough." It was obvious who Ginoza was by the way the boy who had ignored him winced at mention of his name.  
Shinya felt oddly disappointed to be seated near him, almost like he was left with all the bad players in gym class, but he smiled at the boy anyway.

"Nice to meet you, Ginoza-san." Ginoza looked away, his eyes dull and uninterested behind oval frames. They were eerily blank and similar to the boarded up windows on an abandoned building. He could see out, but no one could see in. Shinya faced front immediately. He didn't like the desolate look in the other's eyes.

Early morning classes went by in a droning haze, like they often did. This school was no different from any other in that respect. The teachers themselves were all quite friendly and energetic, though he doubted they'd stay that way as the year wore on.

Lunchtime came and the boy behind him stood quickly and gathered his bag. Shinya noticed he didn't have a lunch with him.

"Hey.. I've got a little extra food here if you want to-"

"No thank you." Ginoza cut him off bluntly and hurried from the room, his eyes focused somewhere away from his classmates, his gait rushed.

Taken aback by the other boy's rude dismissal, Shinya crossed his arms and looked at his bento.

Other students soon gathered around him, all taking seats near him. He didn't miss the fact that none of them sat in Ginoza's seat.

"Hey, too bad about the seat assignment, new guy. Ginoza's bad luck." Shinya cocked an eyebrow.

"Bad luck? He seems pretty normal aside from that chip on his shoulder." A short girl with mousey hair chimed in.

"He's the son of a latent criminal! We all avoid him because we worry about your hues clouding. You had to notice how he looks at you. He's creepy!" He wasn't so sure about him being creepy. More just unapproachable and altogether unfriendly.

"He's always getting into fights. The only reason he gets to stay here is because his stepfather knows the headmaster." Other students nodded and the boy who had initially spoken broke out his lunch before speaking again.

"Most of our parents have complained that they let someone like him near the rest of us normal students. I think its only a matter of time fore he's sent to Isolation, I mean... he could probably snap at any time. He's a total loose canon." Shinya picked at his lunch in silence for a moment. He didn't seem like the kind of person who sought out fights. If anything, he was avoidant by nature and seemed to keep to himself.

"Who does he fight with? If all of you avoid him, it must be someone outside our class." The girl to his right spoke up.

"Well, we've all gone to school together since we were kids. Ginoza was always a little awkward and people have always liked to tease him. So, I mean... he gets in fights with all kinds of people. I don't think he's ever had a friend." Shinya himself hadn't exactly been popular at his old school, but he couldn't say he'd ever been bullied. The friends he did have were a fun bunch of people. He couldn't really imagine what it would be like to **never** have a friend.

"That sounds awful... you guys really just let him sit by himself and ignore him? He's got to be lonely." The students around him shrugged.

"What are we supposed to do? You've seen what he's like. We aren't exactly excited about the idea of putting up with his shitty attitude. The guy's a total prick." Shinya sighed. He wanted to say that they were right and close the subject, but how can they expect him to be friendly when they treat him like this? It was as his father always said: 'No one is born kind. We must learn kindness from others.' If all he was taught was how cruel and cold people could be, then that's all he'd know.

Lunch came to an end almost too quickly and the boy returned from wherever he disappeared to. He sat down behind Shinya without a word and crossed his arms. Shinya took a deep breath and turned to look at him. Ginoza scowled and looked away immediately, adjusting his glasses. Shinya wanted to say something, but he had no idea how to talk to someone like this. He was used to normal people with healthy social lives, not some kid who had probably only ever been spoken to in taunts and insults. He sighed and faced front again, trying to ignore the turmoil in his mind.

He felt bad for the kid. He'd heard about people like him. The families of latent criminals usually fell apart and the children rarely came out of it normal. They would need therapy, and most usually ended up latent criminals themselves because of circumstances like these. They were social pariahs and their own family was a gadfly that would chase them forever. No one ever expected anything good to come out of people like Ginoza. They were fully expected to fail. And that was totally unfair.

* * *

When the final bell rang, Ginoza gathered his books and sped out of the room before Shinya could even tell him goodbye. The other students in the room gave him a wide berth, pressing themselves away from him in their seats as if his status was contagious. Shinya snorted and stood, he didn't have time to worry about something like that. He was just another student at the end of the day. As he made it outside into the fading afternoon sun, he began his trek to the train station where he would catch a ride home. As he neared the end of the school's walkway, a commotion caught his ear.

He could hear jeering laughter as a group of students surrounded a smaller gaggle in an alcove nearby. "Hey, Ginoza, has your daddy called lately? Oh wait, he can't!" Laughter pealed out over the yard and Shinya felt his stomach twist. This was disgusting. How could all those people laugh like that?

He watched for only a moment as Ginoza's back slammed against the brick wall behind him and one of the boys plunged their fist into his stomach. He couldn't let this go on. He'd never forgive himself. Ginoza's books were scattered on the lawn and the one who had punched him before now had him by the hair, ready to hit him again. As Shinya approached, The crowd began to break apart.

"What's going on here?" The guy with his hand wrapped in Ginoza's hair shoved the boy back roughly, an mean smile on his lips. His eyes gleamed with a cruel light.

"What? You want in on this new guy? We're just havin' a bit of fun with our pal Ginoza. You want to get a hit in? I heard he snubbed 'ya." Shinya wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Why don't you leave him alone? He hasn't done anything to you." The other boy stepped forward, his smile turning into a sneer.

"Check it out boys, we got ourselves a hero. What? You the little twink's boyfriend or something? You could do better, man. He ain't even pretty." Shinya snorted.

"Look, break it up or I will get a teacher. This is pointless." He didn't want to fight so soon after arriving here. His mother would skin him alive, but he couldn't just let these guys bet up a kid who wasn't even going to defend himself, either. It was a bad situation either way.

"Let me explain somethin' to ya, new guy. Ginoza here ain't nothin'. He's **garbage**. There's no reason for you to stand here and want to help him. We'll let it slide just this once since you're new, but don't get in our way again. We can do whatever we want to this little bitch. No one cares what happens to him." One of the other boys grabbed Ginoza roughly by the neck and slammed him hard against the wall, laughing at the little grunt that slipped from him. "Look at him. He ain't even tryin' to defend himself because he knows he deserves it. So why don't you just run along?" Shinya growled and grabbed the leader by the shirt collar, cracking their foreheads together painfully. It made his ears ring and his vision swim, but the other guy fell to the ground holding his head.

"What the fuck, man? What's wrong with you?" It had been a gamble, but it seemed that these guys were more bark than bite. They could only beat up on someone if they weren't going to fight back. As they scurried away, throwing threats of revenge at him, Shinya knelt and began to gather Ginoza's books and gently picked up his glasses. Ginoza watched in silence, his eyes once again unreadable and flat. Shinya smiled as kindly as he could and offered him his bag and glasses, which he took quickly, unwilling to even let their fingers touch. He shouldered his bag and crossed his arms across his chest once more.

"Are you okay?" Ginoza looked away, his hands balling into fists.

"I'm **fine**." He brushed by Shinya, heading for the gate, his head tucked down as if he were awaiting a flurry of blows to rain down on it.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Ginoza stopped and shot a perturbed look over his shoulder before snarling, his green eyes flaring in anger.

"**No**. I want you to leave me the hell alone."

Shinya stood there in shock and watched the other boy as he rushed away, his shoulders hunched and his arms gripping himself like he would fly apart. He wanted to say he was angry that he'd been so coldly dismissed. He wanted to call Ginoza ungrateful. He wanted to dismiss him as an asshole that didn't even know how to say 'thank you,' but that was too easy. He didn't believe in taking the easy way out. He didn't see any of those things when he looked at Ginoza. He saw instead the kid who was blamed for other people beating him up. They blamed him because they could. He was the son of a latent criminal, and so had to be the violent, unbalanced one. It couldn't be anyone else.

Shinya picked up his own bag and took a deep breath. He wasn't sure what to do. On the one hand, he wanted to keep things civil, but neutral... but it almost didn't feel like an option. He'd already come into Ginoza's life and it seemed cruel to step back out, even if he'd come in uninvited. He sighed. Maybe he could talk to his parents about it? He'd have to explain the prominent bruise blooming on his forehead anyway.

* * *

The train ride was over quickly and he stood there on the platform, his head aching. He wasn't exactly looking forward to telling his mother and father what had happened. They'd be unhappy with him, but he knew that he'd done the right thing. He made his way through the terminal and out into the street. He would be able to walk the rest of the way home. They didn't live far from this station.

He watched the pavement roll by beneath his feet, mulling over the dilemma he'd found himself in. Before he knew it, he'd made it to his new home. He steeled himself for the inevitable fussing he'd get and opened the front door.

"Shin? Is that you?" His mother's voice called from the laundry room.

"Yeah, mom. It's me." She emerged folding a towel, her smile immediately morphing into a look of concern.

"What happened to your head?" She stepped forward and grabbed his chin in her free hand, looking at the bruise. "Did you run into a locker or something?"

"No... I sort of... headbutted someone." His mother groaned and shook her head, so he rushed to explain. "They were ganging up on another student, I had to do something!"

"You **should** have gone to get an adult. No one expects you to deal with bullies on your own." He shrugged.

"They weren't really going to give me the option." His mother sighed and made her way to the kitchen, grabbing a dish towel and an ice pack.

"Well, here. Press this to your head and sit down for a bit. Tell me about your day." He did as he was told and sat on the sofa next to his mother. He recounted the day's events and told her about Ginoza. She sighed and looked away, crossing her arms. "I don't like the thought of you interacting with that boy, Shin. He sounds like trouble."

"Mom, he's just a kid who happens to be related to a latent criminal. That doesn't make him one." His mother looked at her hands.

"I know it isn't fair, Shin. I know that. It breaks my heart to know that a boy your age is being treated so badly, but there's not much you can do." She squeezed his hand, a sad smile on her face. "If you want to try to be his friend, I won't stop you. You're going to do what you want... but you're going to have to be very patient. This won't be easy."


End file.
